The Idea of Order: Communication

February 18, 2026Morgane SchmidtMorgane Schmidt, the idea of order#communication, #DRESSAGE #OLYMPICS, #Dressage Showing, #Dressage Training, #Equestrian Horror Movies, #Forward Thinking Dressage, #NonTraditionalBreedinDressage, #summer, #THANKSGIVING, classical dressage, competition dressage, do it for the plot, dressage levels, Dressage4Kids, habits are hard, spice rack, The Idea of OrderComments Off

Sometimes it’s harder than you’d think…

Presented by:

Sometimes we think we are communicating clearly, and that is a mistake. 😂

With specific regards to training, sometimes you have to adjust your approach. My coach talks a lot about the need to avoid big aids. There are many reasons for this, but one of the main ones is that they’re ultimately ineffective and often ruin whatever you’re trying to create.

Of course, one of the frustrating things about that is that the rider isn’t the one who gets to decide if the aid was too big; the horse does.

You may think you gave a lovely, very acceptable aid, but if the horse has too big a reaction, then your aid was obviously too big (yes, getting yeeted is a fine example of this in action 😅). If you want to have any chance of effectively training that horse, you will need to adjust.

It’s easy to get sucked into the idea that your aid was right and that the horse should just ‘learn to accept it,’ but being stubborn like that is more effective at generating more yeeting opportunities than it is training.😬

Morgane Schmidt is, among many things, an equestrian who still hasn’t quite decided what she wants to be when she grows up. Author of Life with Horses Is Never Orderly, she knows all about the madness that comes with the equine territory, having owned and competed horses in eventing and dressage for years. A lifelong fan of the classic equestrian cartoons penned by internationally renowned artist Norman Thelwell, she began her own comic series in 2011, sharing deftly funny reflections on life with horses on Horse Nation as well as her personal website. A native Floridian, she spent a decade in Reno, NV, where she was able to confirm her suspicion that snow is utterly worthless (she has since regained her sense and moved back to the Florida swamp). Though she has run the gamut of equestrian disciplines, her favorite is dressage. She has completed her USDF bronze and silver medals and is currently working on her gold. Generally speaking, her life is largely ruled by Woody, a 14.2 hand beastly quarter horse, Willie, a now beastly 16-year-old Dutch gelding, and Milona DG, a 9 year old KWPN chestnut mare (you can make your own inferences there…). Visit her website at www.theideaoforder.com.

Milona DG and I. Photo (c) Q2 Photography.